St. Rose (Main Altar Sculpture Reliefs)

The main altar of St. Rose has relief sculptures both at the top and bottom. At the top left Christ Crucifixion and Death. Followed by Christ Resurrection on the right.



The bottom relief is the Institution of the Eucharist.



These four panels line the bottom as well. Notice the dice in the panel with Christ Garments.





Not to be left out an no less amazing are the wooden carvings found in this church. Look for those in my next post.

Dave the Egyptian posted the following comment. It was so informative I added it to the post. Thanks Dave.

Russ you may already know this but the ambo and front altar are made from the communion rail parts and the carvings there are from the gates of said rail. the stand holding the song numbers is made from the additional fretwork that was removed from the altars decades ago, found hidden locally and reused, the main and side altars used to have huge amounts of fret work on them, much of it cracked and had to be repaired or removed, at least they saved some of it

Thanks Dave, It's tidbits like this that continue to amaze me and make me want to dig deeper into the history of these churches.

St. Rose Mary and Joseph Altar Reliefs

You cannot help but notice the stained glass windows when you enter this church, but as beautiful as they are I find the relief sculptures to be just awesome. Pictured above is the Annunciation found on the Altar of Mary. The Death of Joseph, pictured below is depicted on the Altar of Josepth.



Look for the sculpture reliefs from the Main Altar in my next post.

St. Rose (Face Lift)

While on my recent outing, I stopped by St. Rose Catholic church and found the church in the middle of a face lift.



Inside and not in need of a face lift I found the Patron Saint Rose.

St. Joseph Wapakonetta (Joseph and Jesus)

I posted a winter picture of this statue of Joseph playing with a very young Jesus before. This time I thought I'd come back and spend some more time with it.



This next one is my favorite of the bunch.



The statue is located outside of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wapakonetta.

Olea Sancta (Holy Oil) St. John the Baptist

The Catholic Culture Dictionary gives this explaination for the Holy Oils:

HOLY OILS
Sacramentals blessed by a bishop. There are three kinds: oil of catechumens, holy chrism, and oil of the sick. The first and third are pure olive oil. chrism has in the oil a mixture of balm or balsam. In 1970, the Congregation for Divine Worship declared that, if necessary, the holy oils may be from any plant and not only from olives. The holy oils are symbols of spiritual nourishment and the light of grace. They are used in the public administration of baptism, confirmation, and anointing of the sick. The blessing of the holy oils normally takes place on Holy Thursday by a bishop at a cathedral church. After distribution locally they are kept in locked boxes in the ambry. Unused oils, a year later, are burned in the sanctuary lamp.

Institution of the Eucharist (High Altar) St. John the Baptist

Pictured here is a brass relief of the Institution of the Eucharist on the front of the High Altar. It just amazes me the artwork and craftsmanship I continue to find in these lovely old churches.

St. John the Baptist (Stations of the Cross)

This church has a nice set of the Stations of the Cross. This is just three of the fourteen stations.

St. John the Baptist Alpha and Omega (Doors)

This church has three doors entering and leaving the church. The side doors have the stained glass Alpha and Omega emblems above the door.

St. John the Baptist (Entrance)

One of the things I completely missed on my previous visits to this church was these two portraits in the entry way.

St. John the Baptist (Side Altar Grouping)

Well I finally made it out to take some new pictures. While St. John the Baptist is not a new church it was nice to come back with a fresh set of eyes. When I revisit a church I am always on the look out for seasonal additions, changes, or things I missed on my previous visits. On today's visit I found plenty of new material. I thought I'd start with this grouping of elements that caught my eye.

Immaculate Conception (Botkins) Archive

Here are a few more from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Botkins.



The Stations of the Cross in the church are bronze, I just liked it better in Black and White.





I used the PhotoShop Poster Edges filter on these last two.

Saint Anthony (Archive)